CHAPTER 3

SYSTEM HARDWARE COMPONENTS

In this chapter, the hardware implementation of automatic greenhouse control

and monitoring is described. Devices and components that are used in the application
system are discussed in this chapter. This chapter describes the details of the circuit
and selection of its components. The components used in the system are Raspberry Pi
4, power supply, relay, micro submersible pump, temperature and humidity sensor,
soil moisture sensor, water level sensor, light sensor, bulb, fan and stepper motor.

3.1. Comparison of Raspberry Pi Model 3B and 4B

The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a
computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable
little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to
program in languages like Scratch and Python. Raspberry Pi has the ability to interact
with the outside world, and has been used in a wide array of digital maker projects,
from music machines and parent detectors to weather stations and tweeting
birdhouses with infra-red cameras. Raspberry Pi is being used by kids all over the
world to learn to program and understand how computers work. Raspberry Pi (/paɪ/) is
a series of small single-board computers developed in the United Kingdom by the
Raspberry Pi Foundation to promote teaching of basic computer science in schools
and in developing countries.
The original model became far more popular than anticipated, selling outside
its target market for uses such as robotics. It now is widely used even in research
projects, such as for weather monitoring because of its low cost and portability. It
does not include peripherals (such as keyboards and mice) or cases. However, some
accessories have been included in several official and unofficial bundles. After the
release of the second board type, the Raspberry Pi Foundation set up a new entity,
named Raspberry Pi Trading, and installed Eben Upton as CEO with the
responsibility of developing technology. The Foundation was rededicated as an
educational charity for promoting the teaching of basic computer science in schools
 17

and developing countries [14].

The Raspberry Pi is one of the best-selling British computers. Most Pis are
made in a Sony factory in Pen coed, Wales while others are made in China and Japan.
The Raspberry Pi hardware has evolved through several versions that feature
variations in the type of the central processing unit, amount of memory capacity,
networking support, and peripheral-device support. Figure 3.1 shows Raspberry Pi 3
Model B and Raspberry Pi 4 Model B and these Pis are similar, but lack the Ethernet
and USB hub components. The Ethernet adapter is internally connected to an
additional USB port. In Model A, A+, and the Pi Zero, the USB port is connected
directly to the system on a chip (SoC). On the Pi 1 Model B+ and later models the
USB/Ethernet chip contains a five-port USB hub, of which four ports are available,
while the Pi 1 Model B only provides two. On the Pi Zero, the USB port is also
connected directly to the SoC, but it uses a micro USB (OTG) port. Unlike all other Pi
models, the 40 pin GPIO connector is omitted on the Pi Zero with solderable through
holes only in the pin locations. The Pi Zero WH remedies this. Raspberry Pi 3 Model
B was released with a 1.2 GHz 64-bit quad core processor, on-board 802.11n Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth and USB boot capabilities.
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ was launched with a faster 1.4 GHz processor and a
three-times faster gigabit Ethernet (throughput limited to ca. 300 Mbit/s by the
internal USB 2.0 connection) or 2.4 / 5 GHz dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi (100 Mbit/s).
Other features are Power over Ethernet (PoE) (with the add-on PoE HAT), USB boot
and network boot (an SD card is no longer required). Raspberry Pi 4 Model B was
released with a 1.5 GHz 64-bit quad core ARM Cortex-A72 processor, on-board
802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, full gigabit Ethernet (throughput not limited), two USB
2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, and dual-monitor support via a pair of micro HDMI
(HDMI Type D) ports for up to 4K resolution .
The Pi 4 is also powered via a USB-C port, enabling additional power to be
provided to downstream peripherals, when used with an appropriate PSU. The initial
Raspberry Pi 4 board has a design flaw where third-party e-marked USB cables, such
as those used on Apple MacBooks, incorrectly identify it and refuse to provide power.
Tom's Hardware tested 14 different cables and found that 11 of them turned on and
powered the Pi without issue. Memory options are allocating the amount of RAM to
GPU, and disabling L2 cache. Hardware decoding of additional codecs can be enabled
by purchasing a license that is locked to the serial number of CPU [14].
 18

Raspberry Raspberry
Pi 3 Model Pi 4 Model
Figure 3.1. Comparison of Raspberry Pi 3 B and Pi 4 B [14]

Video options which can be configured at config.txt are composite video mode
options, HDMI mode options, options for defining a custom CVT mode, LCD
display/ touchscreen options, generic display options and other options. An audio
option includes enabling or disabling of audio dithering, and setting bit depth for
PWM sampling. Camera options include enabling or disabling of camera LED signal.
Some boot options are specifying firmware files transferred to the Video core GPU
prior to booting, setting initial UART baud rate and clock frequency, adding boot
code delay, adding boot delay, and enabling or disabling of splash screen.
Configurations can be made for device trees, overlays and parameters. The GPIO
directive allows GPIO pins to be set to specific modes on boot [14].
Modes available for GPIOs are input, output, pull up, pull down, no pull,
driving high (for inputs), driving low (for inputs), selecting Alt0-Alt45 for pins. Some
over clocking options include setting CPU frequency, GPU frequency, frequency of
the hardware video block, frequency of the image sensor pipeline block, frequency of
the 3D block, frequency of the SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM), voltage
adjustment, setting minimum frequency value for dynamic frequency, overheat
protection setting, and throttling control settings. Conditional filter settings are
required if one Pi is swapped between different monitors, or if the SD card is swapped
between multiple Raspberry Pi. Settings for warning symbols are included in
miscellaneous options [14].
 19

3.2. Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is used as a main controller in the system. Raspberry
Pi is a small-sized computer used Linux operating system. It is mini size computer
used mostly to run larger and smart programs to achieve output quickly. Raspberry Pi
4 B+ (RP4) is the lasted model developed by the company, which has all the required
latest wired and wireless communications systems used in most of the smart projects.
A single Raspberry Pi 4 comes to a Quad-Core processor but it has three different
versions which give three different sizes of RAM. Pi 4 uses mini HDMI and it also
has two ports for two 4K displays. Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is the latest product in the
popular Raspberry Pi range of computers. It offers ground-breaking increases in
processor speed, multimedia performance, memory, and connectivity compared to the
prior-generation Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, while retaining backwards compatibility
and similar power consumption. For the end user, Raspberry Pi 4 Model B provides
desktop performance comparable to entry-level x86 PC systems.
The dual-band wireless LAN and Bluetooth have modular compliance
certification, allowing the board to be designed into end products with significantly
reduced compliance testing, improving both cost and time to market. With the all new
Raspberry Pi 4, user can build own credit-sized computer / laptop at a very affordable
price. This computer can power two 4K screens at the same time, allow video and
photo editing while having processing power to perform machine-learning. It can be
used with internal at anywhere without any disturbance. The Pi can be moved easily
within the same network due to fast Wi-Fi support. The device also has LAN support
in case Wi-Fi is not available and the network is following the wired communication
method to communicate [15].

3.2.1. Hardware Configuration of Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi 4 includes a high-performance 64-bit quad-core processor, dual-
display support at resolutions up to 4K via a pair of micro-HDMI ports, hardware
video decode at up to 4Kp60, up to 8GB of RAM, dual-band 2.4/5.0 GHz wireless
LAN, Bluetooth 5.0, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, and PoE capability (via a separate
PoE HAT add-on).
In addition, it has 2 USB3.0 ports and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. Raspberry
Pi 4 has all modern communication systems. It has internal Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for
wireless data communication. In previous Pi devices, there was only one HDMI port
 20

and it also has low graphics, but in the latest model there two mini HDMI ports that
can be used at the same time for multiple desktop views. Both ports give a 4K
ULTRA HD view to the user. Two ports have 2.0 supports only but the remaining two
are 3.0. Due to increase the usage of Raspberry Pi in IoT and other smart projects the
PoE Header has also come within the Pi. The device has camera support. It has a two-
lane MIPI CSI camera port which can be used to connect the pi directly with the
cameras and use them without any third interface. The Raspberry Pi 4 can be
connected to an external LCD. It doesn’t use the expansion header to communicate
with LCDs like other devices [15].

Figure 3.2. Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Specifications [15]

The audio data can be travel from pi to the display device through HDMI but
it has a separate 4 pole audio port that can be used to send and receive an audio signal.
The signal from the device can be used by the internal program or any other device at
the expansion header. Raspberry pi is credit card size computer and was developed in
United Kingdom by the raspberry pi foundation for improving the computer teaching
skills at basic levels in developing countries. It is basically also helpful for improving
the programming skills and hardware understanding skills at pre the university level.
It has a small size and accessible price for everyone but it is slower than modern desk
top computers or lap top. It is still completely Linux base computer and provides all
the expected abilities that a have simple low power computer. It also consists of IV
graphic processor which is linked with 1GB memory to read the board [15]. The
technical specifications of Raspberry Pi 4 Model B are described in Table 3.1.
 21

Table 3.1. Technical Specifications of Raspberry Pi 4 Model B [15]

Microcomputer Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

Broadcom BCM2711, quad-core

Processor Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @
1.5GHz

RAM Memory 4GB

GPU Broadcom Video Core IV@500MHz

USB 2x USB2.0 + 2x USB3.0

HDMI Mini HDMI

Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0

802.11 b/g/n, others: 802.11 b/g/n/ac
Wi-Fi
2.4GHz/5GHz dual band
Ethernet 1000Mbps

PoE Yes

Power Input USB Type-C (5V 3A)

GPIO 40

Clock Speed 1.5 GHz

Operating Temperature Range 0ºC to 50ºC

Operating Power: 5 Volt 3 Ampere DC

Processor Operating Voltage 3.3V

Raw Voltage input 5V, 2A power source

Flash Memory (Operating System) 16Gbytes SSD memory card

3.2.2. Pin Configuration and I/O of Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is also powered via a USB-C port, enabling additional
power to be provided to downstream peripherals, when used with an appropriate PSU.
The initial Raspberry Pi 4 board has a design flaw where third-party e-marked USB
cables, such as those used on Apple MacBooks, incorrectly identify it and refuse to
provide power. The Raspberry Pi 4 can be used in the external embedded system to
 22

communicate. It has a total of 40 pins from which 28 are GPIO pins and the rest of
them are power pins. GPIO pins don’t only perform the simple I/O functions. They
could give the UART, SPI, and I2C communications [16].

Figure 3.3. Raspberry Pi 4 Model B GPIO Description [16]

In Raspberry pi, there are two powers in method, one is from the USB-C
power port and the second one is from any 5V pin. The 5-volt pin is directly
connected to the USB-C adapter port. There are two types of power output pin in the
Raspberry pi 4 3V3 and 5V. 5V is directly connected to the USB port but 3V3 is
connected to through the regulator. There are multiple kinds of serial communication
and UART is one of them. It is quite popular because of its simple communication
system and dependence on most of the software. In Raspberry pi 4 there are multiple
SPI pins that can be used for SPI communication. Raspberry Pi 4 also supports the
I2C protocol. Raspberry Pi 4 has multiple ground pin which is connected internally
and any ground pin can be used by the power supply or external device to make the
common ground. Almost every device needs to input and output pins to communicate.
In this device there are 28 GPIO pins are available these pins can be used for any
digital input and output operating. The GPIO pins in the controller have some default
values. GPIO pins from 0-9 will be at a HIGH state and from 10 to above the pins will
be at a LOW state. All GPIO pins in Raspberry Pi 4 are not only for input-output
function. Each GPIO pin can be used as other functions, which will be specified
through programming. In Raspberry Pi 4 there is a slot for SD card but GPIO Pins
also support the SD card compatibility. SDIO pins on the device can be used for SD
card in case of requirement. These communications are specific to every pin and all
their function are discussed in below at Table 3.2.
 23

Table 3.2. Pin Description of Raspberry Pi 4 Model B [16]

Pin Group Pin Name Description

+5V -power output

+5V, +3.3V, GND and
Power source +3.3V -power output
Vin
GND – GROUND pin
UART (Universal
UART Interface Asynchronous Receiver
Communication interface (RXD,TXD) Transmitter) used for
[(GPIO15, GPIO14)] interfacing sensors and
other devices.
SPI Interface
(MOSI, MISO, CLK,
CE) x 2 SPI (Serial Peripheral
[SPI0-(GPIO10, GPIO9, Interface) used for
GPIO11, GPIO8)] communicating with other
[SPI1--(GPIO20, boards or peripherals.
GPIO19, GPIO21,
GPIO7)]
TWI Interface (SDA,
TWI (Two Wire Interface)
SCL) x 2 [(GPIO2,
Interface can be used to
GPIO3)]
connect peripherals.
[(ID_SD, ID_SC)]
Although these some
pins have multiple
Input output pins 26 I/O
functions, they can be
considered as I/O pins.
These 4 channels can
Hardware PWM available
provide PWM (Pulse
PWM on GPIO12, GPIO13,
Width Modulation)
GPIO18, GPIO19
outputs.
 24

In the board all I/O pins

External interrupts All I/O can be used as
Interrupts.

3.3. The Python Development Tools

In order to develop Python program in Raspberry Pi, Python development
tools can be used. It is therefore of help to study some of the tools that will be used to
develop Python scripts (small text files containing commands) and applications.
Developers can use either the interactive Python terminal to execute the code line by
line or the python executable to run full scripts and applications.
To open the interactive terminal, the black monitor icon in the top right corner
of the desktop is clicked. This will open an LX Terminal window. In this window,
type python and press Enter. This will start the interactive terminal as shown in the
following Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4. Python Interactive Terminal [17]

From this terminal, the Python code can be typed line by line; each line is
executed as soon as it is typed, making this tool useful for quick testing and
debugging. To demonstrate this, type print "Hello, world!" and press Enter, it will
yield the result as in the following Figure 3.5.
 25

Figure 3.5. Python Line By Line Test [17]

The python executable can also be used to run the existing Python script files
(which have the .py file extension). Another method alternative to the interactive
terminal is the IDLE Integrated Development Environment (IDE). This can be used
both as an interactive terminal and a source file editor, and provide syntax
highlighting for the Python files [17]. It can be located on the submenu of the main
menu on Raspbian, as shown in the following Figure 3.6.

Figure 3.6. Python 2 and Python 3 in Submenu [17]

When it is first opened, it will be in the interactive terminal mode and can be
used in the same way as the terminal ran from the command line, as shown in the
Figure 3.6. Simple hello world program can be test [17].

3.4. BME280 Temperature, Humidity and Pressure sensor

 26

The BME280 is a humidity sensor especially developed for mobile

applications and wearable where size and low power consumption are key design
parameters. The unit combines high linearity and high accuracy sensors and is
perfectly feasible for low current consumption, long-term stability and high EMC
robustness. The humidity sensor offers an extremely fast response time and therefore
supports performance requirements for emerging applications such as context
awareness, and high accuracy over a wide temperature range [18].
The BME280 is the next-generation of sensors from Bosch, and is the upgrade
to the BMP085/BMP180/BMP183 – with a low altitude noise of 0.25m and the same
fast conversion time. It has the same specifications, but can use either I2C or SPI. For
ease of use, recommend connecting this breakout using I2C. If user needs to hook up
a bunch of these sensors without worrying about I2C address collisions, go with SPI.

Figure 3.7. BME280 Temperature, Humidity and Pressure sensor [18]

This precision sensor can measure relative humidity from 0 to 100% with ±3%
accuracy, barometric pressure from 300Pa to 1100 hPa with ±1 hPa absolute
accuracy, and temperature from -40°C to 85°C with ±1.0°C accuracy. The BME280
consumes less than 1mA during measurements and only 5μA during idle. This low
power consumption allows the implementation in battery driven devices such as
handsets, GPS modules or watches. The pressure measurements are so precise (low
altitude noise of 0.25m), can even use it as an altimeter with ±1 meter accuracy.

3.5. Ultrasonic Sensors (HC-SR04)

Ultrasonic sensor: In the proposed system we use a pair of ultrasonic sensor.
An upper one at a height of about 90 cm to detect upper obstacles and another sensor
at a height of about 30 cm to detect obstacles below knee level. Each ultrasonic sensor
 27

detects the obstacles in a range of about 200 - 400 cm. The distance of the obstacle is
determined based on the delay between the emission of sound and the arrival of an
echo. The distance of the obstacle can be measured as, :
Distance = Speed x Time (3.1)
where, time is the time duration for which the ultrasonic waves have travelled and
speed of sound in air is 340m/s.
The product of time and speed by 2 because the time is the total times it took
to reach the obstacle and return. Ultrasonic sensor is used to measure the distance of
the object it is attached to from the obstacle.

Figure 3.4. Ultrasonic Sensor [19]

Ultrasonic sensor detects the obstacles in a range of about 2cm-400cm. This

sensor can measure the distance between the stick and the ground because the ground
is uneven [19].

Table 3.3. Pin Descriptions of Ultrasonic Sensor [19]

Type Pin Symbol Description

VCC 5V power supply

HC-SR04 Trig Trigger pin

Echo Receive pin

GND Power Ground

The Vcc pin powers the sensor, typically with +5V. Trigger pin is an Input
pin. This pin has to be kept high for 10us to initialize measurement by sending US
 28

wave. Echo pin is a output pin. This pin goes high for a period of time which will be
equal to the time taken for US wave to return back to the sensor. This pin is connected
to the ground of the system [19].

3.6. Light Intensity Sensor

Light Intensity Sensor is a photosensitive resistor module, suitable to detect
environmental light intensity and ambient brightness. Its sensitivity can be tuned with
an on board potentiometer, where turning it clockwise will increase the sensitivity and
increase the detection range. Photo resistors, also known as light dependent resistors
(LDR), are light sensitive components most often used to indicate the presence or
absence of light or to measure the light intensity.

Figure 3.9. Light Intensity Sensor [20]

In the dark, their resistance is very high, up to 1M, but when the LDR sensor
is exposed to light, the resistance drops, even down to a few ohms, depending on the
light intensity. LDRs have a sensitivity that varies with the wavelength of the light
applied and are nonlinear devices [20]. The technical specification of light intensity
sensor is as shown in Table 3.7.

Table 3.7. Technical Specifications of Light Intensity Sensor [20]

Operating voltage 2.4V -3.6Vn

Operating current 0.12mA

Clock Frequency 400kHz

Variation Factor +/- 20%

Operating temperature -40°C to 85°C

Measurement Range Adjustable

 29

Noise 50Hz/60Hz

Photosensitive resistor module most sensitive to environmental light intensity

is generally used to detect the ambient brightness and light intensity. Module light
conditions or light intensity reach the set threshold, DO port output high, when the
external ambient light intensity exceeds a set threshold, the module D0 output low;
Digital output D0 directly connected to the MCU, and detect high or low TTL,
thereby detecting ambient light intensity changes. Analog output module AO and AD
modules can be connected through the AD converter, and get a more accurate light
intensity values. The pin description of light intensity sensor is as shown in Table 3.8.
Table 3.8. Pin Description of Light Intensity Sensor [20]
Pin Description Function

VCC 3.3V ~ 5V Connected to 3.3V ~ 5V

GND 0V Connected to Ground
D0 Digital Output Output High/ Low shows with LED status
A0 Analog Output Analog output varies due to intensity of light

3.7. Soil Moisture Sensor

Measuring soil moisture is important for agricultural applications to help
farmer manage their irrigation systems more efficiently. Knowing the exact soil
moisture conditions on their fields, not only are farmers able to generally use less
water to grow a crop, they are also able to increase yields and the quality of the crop
by improved management of soil moisture during critical plant growth stages Soil
moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content in soil [21].

Figure 3.10. Soil Moisture Sensor [21]

 30

Moisture sensors is measured the volumetric water content indirectly by using

some other property of the soil, such as electrical resistance, dielectric constant, or
interaction with neutrons, as a proxy for the moisture content [21].
Analog and Digital Sense of Sensors (LM393 Voltage Comparator) – For
sensors, there are normally two ways as output, the analog value or digital value
output.
 Analog value: Most sensors only provide the analog value, so it outputs a
voltage value to indicate the sensing parameters. Arduino read this value on
A0 to A9, and from 0 till 1023. In AVR, the analog voltage varies from 0V till
5V. Users sign AO (Analog Output) as a pin name on many sensors boards.
 Digital value: Sometimes users only want the sensors only give feedback
when the sensing value read a threshold that users want, so when it reached
the feedback is 1, and 0 vice-verse [20].
LM393 IC do the voltage comparing, a reference voltage (UR) is set by the
adjustable potentiometer, when the analog output value over this value, the LM393
will output a digital to indicate this sensor is triggered by reaching this setup threshold
[20]. The technical specification of soil moisture sensor is as shown in Table 3.9.

Table 3.9. Technical Specifications of Soil Moisture Meter Sensor [21]

Item Soil Moisture Meter Sensor

Working Voltage 3.3V~5V

Working Current 35mA

Interface Type Analog

Working Temperature 10°C~30°C

Signal Output Voltage 0V~4.2V

Output Signal Both Analog and Digital

Sensing Probe Dimensions 60×30mm

On-board LM393 Voltage Comparator

 31

The soil moisture sensor has 4-pin package: Vcc, GND, DO and AO. The pin
identification and configuration of soil moisture sensor is as shown in Table 3.10.

Table 3.10. Pin Identification and Configuration of Soil Moisture Meter Sensor [21]

No. Pin Name Description

1 Vcc Power supply 3.5V~5.5V

2 GND Connected to the ground of the circuit

3 DO Digital Output

4 AO Analog Output

The soil moisture sensor uses capacitance to measure dielectric permittivity of

the surrounding medium. In soil, dielectric permittivity is a function of the water
content. The sensor creates a voltage proportional to the dielectric permittivity, and
therefore the water content of the soil. The sensor averages the water content over the
entire length of the sensor. There is a 2 cm zone of influence with respect to the flat
surface of the sensor, but it has little or no sensitivity at the extreme edges. The soil
moisture sensor is used to measure the loss of moisture over time due to evaporation
and plant uptake, evaluate optimum soil moisture contents for various species of
plants, monitor soil moisture content to control irrigation in greenhouses and enhance
bottle biology experiments [21].

3.8. Bulb as Heater

If the temperature inside the greenhouse down below the desire volume, there
are heater will be run. In this thesis, 5W incandescent bulb is used for heater device.
An incandescent bulb is an extremely inefficient light source. A 100 watt bulb is 2.1%
efficient. In other words, it produces about 10 watts of light and 90 watts of heat.

Figure 3.11. 5W Incandescent Bulb [22]

 32

An incandescent bulb becomes too hot to touch soon after turn it on. When
flick on a light with a regular incandescent bulb, electricity is converted to heat in the
tiny, tungsten wire inside. In a 75 watt bulb, the wire heats up to about 2538°C
(4600°F). At such a high temperature, the energy radiating from the wire includes
some visible light. Incandescent light bulbs are not the most efficient light source,
though, because 90% of the electricity they use produces heat, while a measly 10%
produces light. In 5 watt incandescent bulb, the wire heats up to about 152°C (306°F)
[22].

3.9. Four Channel Relay Module

This is a HIGH / LOW level 5V 4Channel relay module and each need a 15-
20mA driver current. It can be used to control various appliance and equipment with
large current. This module is optically isolated from high voltage side for safety
requirement and also prevent ground loop when interface to microcontroller. The
relay module is an electrically operated switch that allows you to turn on or off a
circuit using voltage and / or current much higher than a microcontroller could handle.
There is no connection between the low voltage circuit operated by the
microcontroller and the high power circuit. The relay protects each circuit from each
other. Each channel in the module has three connections named NC, NO and COM.
Depending on the input signal trigger mode, the jumper can be placed at high level
effective mode which close the normally open (NO) at high level input and at low
level effective mode which operate the same but at low level input [23].

Figure 3.12. Four-Channel Relay [23]

This completes the high voltage circuit. The spring is attached between the
coil and the armature. When the control signal is no longer sent to the circuit, the
spring pulls the armature back to its original position. The four-channel 5V relay
 33

shield consists of four relays, which can be used to switch devices up to 250V AC
with up to 10A of current using 5V input signals from the Raspberry Pi [23].

3.10. Fan
A fan is a powered machine used to create flow within a fluid, typically a gas
such as air. A fan consists of a rotating arrangement of vanes or blades which act on
the air. The rotating assembly of blades and hub is known as an impeller, a rotor, or a
runner. Usually, it is contained within some form of housing or case. This may direct
the airflow or increase safety by preventing objects from contacting the fan blades.
Most fans are powered by electric motors, but other sources of power may be used,
including hydraulic motors, hand cranks, internal combustion engines, and solar
power. A light bulb is a device that produces light from electricity. In addition to
lighting a dark space, they can be used to show an electronic device is on, to direct
traffic, for heat, and many other purposes. Billions are in use, some even in outer
space [24].

Figure 3.13. Fan [24]

Fan has become much more sophisticated in recent years, and it can now be
applied to both residential and industrial ceiling fans. Fans have motors that rely on
permanent, built-in magnets in order to attract and repel a rotor around an axis joined
with investors. DC technology is much newer than AC technology, which means there
are fewer options available.
Fans are widely regarded as the most efficient type of fan. They consume
significantly less power than AC fans. In fact, DC fans consume up to 70% less
energy to produce the same output as other fan types. For example, that means that a
25W DC-driven fan uses the same power as a 100W AC-driven fan. This is ideal for
commercial settings, like restaurants, allowing the user to keep fans running all day
 34

without incurring astronomical electric bills [24]. The technical specifications of fan
are as shown in Table 3.11.

Table 3.11. Technical Specifications of Fan [24]

Voltage 6V ~ 13.8V

Temperature (-10) ˚C ~ 70˚C

Operating Power 1.68W

Speed 600RPM

Air Flow Rate 50.75 CFM

Noise Level 26.3 dBA

Operating Current 0.2 ± 10% A

3.11. 12V DC Submersible Pump
This submersible pump is designed for reliable fountains, waterproof and long
continuous working time provides user an amazing glow. 12V DC pump has unique
design of motor and pump body structure, low power consumption and longer life,
extremely quiet operation and wide application. This pump has any features that are
dual connecting ways with tubes of variety sizes, safety, anti-corrosive, acid-resisting
and durable, over-voltage protection, avoid damage due to incorrect power voltage
and suitable for both fresh-water and salt-water. Submersible pump can apply in
aquarium, fountains, spout, fish tank, garden watering and hydroponic.

Figure 3.14. Micro Submersible Pump [25]

One of the important issue in greenhouse is the sensing the value of water in
soil. If the soil dries less than desire volume, the water pump will be operate to flow
the water to soil from a water tank. Micro submersible pump was selected in this
 35

thesis. The technical specification of micro submersible pump is as shown in Table

3.12.

Table 3.12. Technical Specifications of Micro Submersible Pump [25]

Brand Micro Submersible Pump

Operating Voltage 2.5 ~ 6V

Operating Current 130 ~ 220mA

Flow Rate 80 ~ 120 L/H

Maximum Lift 40 ~ 110 mm

Continuous Working Life 500 hours

Flow Rate 2500L/H

3.12. Stepper Motor
A stepper motor is an electromechanical device it converts electrical power
into mechanical power. Also, it is a brushless, synchronous electric motor that can
divide a full rotation into an expansive number of steps. The motor’s position can be
controlled accurately without any feedback mechanism, as long as the motor is
carefully sized to the application. Stepper motors are similar to switched reluctance
motors [26].
The stepper motor uses the theory of operation for magnets to make the motor
shaft turn a precise distance when a pulse of electricity is provided. The stator has
eight poles, and the rotor has six poles. The rotor will require 24 pulses of electricity
to move the 24 steps to make one complete revolution. Another way to say this is that
the rotor will move precisely 15° for each pulse of electricity that the motor receives.
There are three main types of stepper motors, they are:
 Permanent Magnet Stepper Motor - Permanent magnet motors use a
permanent magnet (PM) in the rotor and operate on the attraction or repulsion
between the rotor PM and the stator electromagnets.
 Variable Reluctance Stepper Motor - Variable reluctance (VR) motors have a
plain iron rotor and operate based on the principle that minimum reluctance
occurs with minimum gap, hence the rotor points are attracted toward the
stator magnet poles.
 36

 Hybrid Synchronous Stepper Motor - Hybrid stepper motors are named

because they use a combination of permanent magnet (PM) and variable
reluctance (VR) techniques to achieve maximum power in small package size
[26].

Figure 3.15. Stepper Motor [26]

Stepper motors operate differently from DC brush motors, which rotate when
voltage is applied to their terminals. Stepper motors, on the other hand, effectively
have multiple toothed electromagnets arranged around a central gear-shaped piece of
iron. The electromagnets are energized by an external control circuit, for example, a
microcontroller. Stepper motor control circuit is a simple and low-cost circuit, mainly
used in low power applications [26]. The technical specification of stepper motor is as
shown in Table 3.13.

Table 3.13. Technical Specifications of Stepper Motor [26]

Brand Stepper Motor
Rated Voltage 5V DC
Number of Phase 4
Frequency 100Hz
DC Resistance 50 Ω ± 7%
Insulated Resistance 10M (500V)
Rise in Temperature 40K
Flow Rate 2500L/H
Speed Variation Ratio 1/64

Stride Angle 5.625º/64

3.13. Analog to Digital Converter

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An analog to digital converter is a circuit that converts a continuous voltage

value (analog) to a binary value (digital) that can be understood by a digital device
which could then be used for digital computation. These ADC circuits can be found as
an individual ADC ICs by themselves or embedded into a microcontroller. They’re
called ADCs for short.

Figure 3.16. Analog to Digital Converter [27]

In electronics, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC, A/D, or A-to-D) is a
system that converts an analog signal, such as a sound picked up by a microphone or
light entering a digital camera, into a digital signal. An ADC may also provide an
isolated measurement such as an electronic device that converts an input analog
voltage or current to a digital number representing the magnitude of the voltage or
current. Typically the digital output is a two's complement binary number that is
proportional to the input, but there are other possibilities [27].
Analog input is crucial in getting data from sensors. Many sensors are analog
example LM35 (temperature sensor), Potentiometer (position), LDR (light),
Thermistors (temperature) and many more. ADC is famous to provide the analog
input to digital only Raspberry Pi.

3.14.Summary
In this chapter, the architecture and features of hardware components of this
system are mentioned. The next chapter will discuss about the system operation of
greenhouse control and experimental results of this research.